Why No Excuse

No Excuse is a blog focusing on poverty and poverty issues in Hamilton, Ontario. Look here daily for news items, events, resources, and a chance to engage in discussions with others on local poverty issues. No Excuse was originally staff-written when it was launched in 2007 as part of the Hamilton Spectator's Poverty Project, but it is now a community blog written by people who come from all walks of city life, but share a deep concern for poverty issues. See "Who Are We" for more information about our authors.

September 2008

September 30, 2008

Don’t know enough about the issues facing candidates in this federal election? Canada Votes 2008 is a great resource that provides an overview of 13 key issues including child care, affordable housing, health, poverty and income security. A number of social planning councils from across Canada have collaborated to provide local voters with key reference information about issues. There is a series of 13 two page briefs which can be found at site.The briefs – under the title Canada Votes! — provide an overview of the issue, the role of the federal government over the past number of years around the issue and then suggestions to consider. Each brief ends with some key points and a question for federal candidates. An example of the Child Poverty Key Points and Questions: "Despite continued economic growth, Canada’s record on child poverty is worse now than it was in 1989, when the House of Commons unanimously resolved to ‘achieve the goal of eliminating poverty among Canadian children by the year 2000.’ "According to the most recent report card on child poverty in Canada, released by Campaign 2000 in November 2007, almost one child out of every six in Canada live in poverty. "Government transfers are key in helping families stay above the poverty line. "What is your plan to ensure that child poverty in Canada is eradicated? "How will your party ensure that there is public funding to continue important services and programs that serve children and families? Canada Votes Papers 2008 is a pan-Canadian collaboration between Community Development Halton, SPARC BC, Community Social Planning Council of Toronto, Human Development Council of St. John and the Canadian Council on Social Development.

September 29, 2008

Hamilton’s 113,000 tenants face numerous challenges. Many rental households face the constant threat of "economic eviction" – often because the cost of keeping housed is so high. The average two bedroom apartment in town rents for $824/month and 26,000 tenant households in Hamilton pay more than 50 per cent of their income in rent.Major disrepair, crime, harassment, discrimination and difficulty finding safe, accessible and affordable housing are constant threats.Hamilton has been rocked by several tenant scandals in the past two years: a collapsing retaining wall on St. Joseph’s Drive, the discovery of close to 50 units being used for marijuana grow operations in one east end community and landlords refusing to provide heat and hydro in the dead of winter. In response, several community partners have organized Hamilton’s first tenant town hall meeting to be held on Saturday, October 4 at the central branch of the Hamilton Public Library (55 York Blvd) from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. The goals of the town hall meeting are to get tenants’ issues on the political agenda and to educate tenants about their rights.A panel of tenants will discuss their efforts to exercise their rights. There will be two educational workshops for tenants: exercising your rights (repairs and maintenance issues) and racism and discrimination in rental housing. A discussion organized to teach tenants how to get their issues on the political agenda will also take place. A popular education activity designed to create a list of the most important issues for tenants will take place at the end to develop a "Tenants’ Agenda" that can be presented to City Council. To register call Madhavi Reddy, Project Co-ordinator, Hamilton Tenant Education Project at 905-526-9119Do you think tenants get a fair shake in Hamilton? Tell us you about your experiences.

Working with grassroots anti-poverty groups in Hamilton over the last four years, I have heard and, in many ways, supported the local maxim, "Making Hamilton the Best Place to Raise a Child." However, at times I have adapted that saying to "Making Hamilton the Best Place to Raise a Senior" or "Making Hamilton the Best Place to Raise a Working Age Adult," in order to be sure we address poverty comprehensively in this community.Now I have come across an issue in Hamilton that, if resolved, could go toward making Hamilton the Best Place to Raise a Grandchild. I am still shaking my head in disbelief that we even have to address this. ROCK, Raising Our Children's Kids, is a group of grandparents (mostly grandmothers) who support each other in the trials and tribulations of raising their kids' kids, many of whom have fetal alcohol syndrome. Turns out, if they lived anywhere else in Ontario besides here (or Ottawa), they would be eligible for temporary care payments of about $100 a month per child. In 2006, the city cut off the Ontario Works Temporary Care Assistance payments that helped them raise their grandkids and a social benefits tribunal agreed with the city's strict interpretation of the Ontario Work Act.The grandparents are seeking justice from the City of Hamilton and the Ontario Works decision. Mark your calendars for Tuesday, Oct. 28, 11 a.m., and join these rocking grandparents in Gore Park, along with MPP Paul Miller and MP David Christopherson for a demonstration on this issue.

September 26, 2008

This past summer, Hamilton's local food banks managed to keep their doors open, in part thanks to the generosity of our community. Many people donated individually or through food drives like the Hope from Hope and Kirkendall food drive that were held in and around Hamilton. Hamilton has many anti-poverty committees and groups such as the Roundtable for Poverty Reduction, the Social Planning and Research Council and 25 in 5 Network for Poverty Reduction that hold meetings and do studies on what actions are needed to reduce poverty. These types of groups have been around for many years. In the 90s, the End Child and Family Poverty in Canada offered us hope. Yet here we are years later and the problem still exists. Almost everyone agrees that what is needed to reduce/eliminate poverty is sustainable employment at a livable income level for families, safe affordable housing and day care. Without these basics, poverty will continue to be an issue. We can hope the result of these studies will provide us with the solutions.
All the committees and reports may indeed provide relief in the long term, but help is needed now. There are hungry people in Hamilton today. So while we wait for the reports and promised government funding, it is up to us, the community, to step up and help those who for one reason or another need our help. You can help by donating to your local food bank, hold a food drive at work or on your street, or donate your time or money. Some people may say that donating food is providing only a Band-Aid solution, but if I am ever cut to the bone, I would like someone to offer me a Band-Aid to help stop the bleeding while I wait for a surgeon. Wouldn't you want a Band-Aid? Would you offer a Band-Aid?
Are we doing enough? Do you have any other ideas of what could be done that isn't already been done?

The Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction called on all federal political parties to address the unacceptable levels of poverty both in Hamilton and across Canada during a media briefing on Friday morning. “3,400,000 Canadians, including 89,000 Hamiltonians, live below Statistics Canada’s low income cut off. We believe the federal government has an important and pro-active role to play in collaborating with communities in the creation of a national poverty strategy,” said Mark Chamberlain, chair of roundtable. The call for a national poverty strategy is a non-partisan one. Members of the Poverty Roundtable have been holding briefing sessions for all federal party candidates running in the October 14th election. The Roundtable has prepared a Policy Brief with recommendations to help move Canadian families out of poverty. They include:- Establish an inter-departmental secretariat on poverty reduction.- Establish a multi-sector panel to work with the federal government on poverty reduction.- Develop measurable targets and a timeline to reduce poverty.- Invest resources and create the necessary policies to reduce and prevent poverty.- Build a framework towards ensuring more flexibility and sustainability for federal programs aimed at reducing poverty The Roundtable has also identified a number of "prosperity priorities" that would have an immediate impact on families living in poverty. These include support for a flexible and sustainable national housing strategy and the continuation of the federal homelessness partnership initiative, comprehensive early childhood investments, an emphasis on skills training for youth and new Canadians, strong federal support for infrastructure investments within communities and reform of employment insurance criteria which prevents 75 per cent of unemployed persons in Ontario from getting access to the federal program. The Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction was convened in mid-2005 by the City of Hamilton and the Hamilton Community Foundation with broad community support and the goal of making Hamilton "the best place to raise a child." Do you think poverty has been talked about enough during the election? Let us know your thoughts.

September 17, 2008

Rumours are swirling out of Queen’s Park that the provincial government may delay the rollout of its much anticipated Ontario Poverty Strategy. Premier McGuinty recently suggested that the public’s expectations for a comprehensive plan may have to be tempered as a result of the bleak economic outlook for the province.

Shortly after their re-election last year, the Premier announced the creation of a cabinet committee on poverty reduction and appointed several high profile ministers, led by Children and Youth Minister Deb Matthews to embark on a province-wide consultation and the creation of a made-in-Ontario poverty strategy.

Over the summer, communities across the province hosted public forums to engage residents about their poverty priorities. Hamilton's Roundtable for Poverty Reduction hosted a large gathering at the Convention Centre on the evening of July 14, and produced a summary of the discussion.

Local initiatives, including a hugely successful post-card campaign calling for a 25 per cent reduction in poverty in five years, have been led by Hamilton's Working Group on Ontario Poverty Reduction Strategy.

Yesterday, the 25-in-5 campaign, a coalition of anti-poverty organizations across the province released a statement calling on the Provincial Government to not delay in releasing the poverty strategy. "The threat of an economic downturn makes leadership on poverty reduction more important than ever," said 25-in-5 spokesperson Jacquie Maund, of Ontario Campaign 2000. "And it's a signal that we can't afford to delay implementation of a plan."

Perhaps not coincidently, the Ontario
government has also delayed the “Provincial-Municipal fiscal and service delivery
review,” possibly for the same reason: economic uncertainty. That
report could potentially recommend wholesale uploading of social assistance
costs that have placed a tremendous financial burden on municipalities –
especially Hamilton. A motion has been drafted by the Fairness for Hamilton
Committee, approved by Council and signed by the mayor reminding the provincial
government of the heavy impact that delay could have on local taxpayers and
community services.

So here’s a question: is an economic downturn the right time or
the wrong time to move forward with social investments? Let us know what you think.

This is an opportune time for
the relaunch of the Poverty Blog. There are two important United Nations dates coming in October. Oct. 16 is World
Food Day and Oct. 17 is the International Day for
the Eradication of Poverty.Not only is Hamilton working
diligently toward the eradication of poverty but also addressing the social
issues of human rights problems that relate to poverty. The
day-to-day struggles faced when living in poverty challenge us to remain
positive in the face of negative stereotyping.I have been reading many different
documents and web pages lately about poverty. It is important
not to dwell on the negative but to build on the positive. I have
been searching for ideas about capacity building and social and economic
development concepts.

In looking for ideas for the two United Nations days, I found two documents that relate to the theme of eradicating poverty. The first document stresses the importance of institutions and individuals working together to reclaim their dignity and a sense of self-worth. Capacity building along with developing a sense of service to human engenders a sense of trust between the individual and institutions.

The second document looks at "linking poverty reduction to questions of justice and obligation rather than charity." So often, we think that if we shove money at a problem, it will solve the trouble. In reality, it is nothing more than an expensive bandage. This document also stresses the equality of men and women and encourages women to become integral parts of society at all levels.

I want to hear what you think
of the ideas in these documents. Do you agree? What ideas
can we adapt to Hamilton?

September 10, 2008

It is easy to remain cynical about our national political scene: The Prime Minister broke the spirit, if not the letter, of his own "fixed date" election law by calling an early election Sunday. His Party has been incessantly running negative ads on Liberal chief Stéphane Dion for nearly two years. Canadians seem disenchanted and disengaged by their leaders, and it is little wonder.
But we need to care.
Three and a half million Canadians (including 800,000 children) live in poverty and the country still doesn't have a National Poverty Strategy.
Tens of thousands of manufacturing jobs have been lost in Southern Ontario in recent years.
Thousands cannot get access to Employment Insurance benefits after losing a job because the criteria discriminate against those who work irregular hours – workers in Ontario are specifically harmed.
Many low and middle income families don't have access to affordable child care.
A national housing strategy is non-existent and homelessness remains dire in many urban centres. The federally-funded Homelessness Partnership Initiative is set to expire in March 31, 2009 and it will have a dramatically negative impact on homelessness in Hamilton and across the country if it is not renewed.
Old cities like Hamilton continue to languish because they simply cannot afford the monumental costs of upgrading deteriorating infrastructure which burdens all taxpayers and prevents opportunities for new investments to enhance quality of life in communities.
Issue abound and candidates from all parties must be willing to address these crises with specific and costed proposals. So find out all you can, ask tough questions and most importantly get involved!
We'll try to post information about all-candidates meetings and other forums in this space so you can learn more.
What do you think are the big poverty issues in the federal election?